Empowerment through power tools at the Parramatta Women's Shed

The new Parramatta Women's Shed hopes not just to build DIY projects, but to also build the self confidence of participants.

For the past two decades, the men's shed movement has provided men with safe spaces to bond and extend one another support while tinkering over power tools. Now women are being offered the same opportunity, says the Bower Reuse and Repair Centre's communications manager, Caroline Ayling.

Caroline Ayling, marketing and communications manager for The Bower Reuse and Repair Centre, at the new Parramatta Women's Shed. Credit:Louise Kennerley

The shed at the Bower centre in Parramatta will join what Ayling estimates is only "a handful" of such female-focused "sheds" around the country.

"Women's sheds are gaining traction now," says Ayling. "I think women's sheds have some added objectives [to men's sheds], which basically comes down to female empowerment, so building confidence and skills with tasks that perhaps traditionally women haven't been raised to learn."

The enterprise is a joint project between the Bower and networking initiative Supporting and Linking Tradeswomen, with the SALT tradies leading low-cost workshops in woodwork, car maintenance, house painting and more. "What sets the Parramatta women's shed apart is that this is a sustainable women's shed," says Ayling. "So all the materials will be recycled, the tools are all second-hand."

The initiative launches on Sunday April 8, inviting visitors to check out the space and view interactive carpentry demonstrations. "We've seen such huge interest from women in learning DIY," says Ayling. "There's massive demand out there from women who are wanting to redress this inequality now. There's no reason why we shouldn't know how to fix a leaky tap or use power tools."